Alternate Reality Card: Violence
by BulletofEducation
Summary: An alternate take on the legendary duel between Zarc and Ray in the ARC-V canon.


**[EXT. Original Dimension]**

"What a good day to bask in my wealth and fortune", said Leo Akaba as he tempted fate.

He stood above a crowd of cheering duellists amongst a jury table of rich snobs and sponsors, all gathered to celebrate the Fortune Kingdom Grand Smile Carnival Cup. The only cinch in his perfect day so far was that his prized daughter Reign Emilia Akaba (Ray, he called her) had only made 3rd place because she'd drawn the costumed duellist Red Herring in the semi-finals. Any other match-up would have guaranteed her win. Alas, the Sakaki boy with the dragon mania and the dumb, unpronounceable name had clinched the title and stepped forward to claim the Nobel Prize of duels.

The crowd roared in joy, then stood and extolled him to do his requisite catchphrases like he wasn't already leashed by contract to do them.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The fun is just beginning! _I'M GOING INSANE!_ "

Z-boy paused carefully on each of them to rising cheers and applause, thunderous enough to kill liberty. Then, he readied his disk, summoned four dragons and the murders began.

 **[EXT. A burning laboratory, two nights later]**

The first hours had seen the dragons breezing through the military and the air force. All child's play, within the scope of his Real Solid Vision. But as soon as he began attacking other duellists? Shit had gotten real, solid and visible.

" _I DECLARE OPEN SEASON ON ALL DUELLISTS!_ " Sakaki said in live recordings of his declaration which played over the news. " _BE CRUSHED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF YOUR MISTAKES AND MY DRAGONS!_ "

These weren't the ramblings of an ordinary lunatic with Real Solid Vision. No, they were the ramblings of a gifted lunatic. Leo was forced to conclude that Sakaki's claims, and Ray's comments about them, were true: there were spirits in the cards, the boy could commune with them and together, they achieved a new state of being.

Zack Sakaki called it Godhood when that dragon first appeared. He had rewritten the effects of his fifth ace, Astrograph Magician, and fused with it in living flesh to create a new brand of monster-duellist, a hybrid of Fusion, Synchro and Xyz called Supreme King Dragon. Worse still, Zack had a broken archetype to go with it and no opponent stood a chance as soon as it hit the field. Leo's team had not detected any hacking whatsoever and the boy's surviving sponsors said they did not design those cards. Therefore, Leo was forced to conclude that Zack's powers were big enough to rewrite cards to such an extent. That any one man could alter and destroy reality so easily was wholly incomprehensible to Leo.

The newsfeed's update on the latest atrocities and dead teams was drowned over the humming of Leo's card-maker. It was the only model that had survived the onslaught and a crude one at that. In regards to the gameplay, the cards would come weaker than he'd like but he laboured to fuel them with the world's natural energies.

On voice-log, he summarized:

"The life-readings of the flower and the bird have been used as axes of measurement. Wind recordings from the sonic anemometer have been tuned to the screams of dying duellists and the gamma radiation of the moon has fuelled the final product for use in a Real Solid Vision context. All has been done as per R. Goodwin's Unified Duel Theory on the Occult".

The dragon drew its strength and endurance from Fusion, Synchro and Xyz, so Leo intended to make cards that would disable those foundations, one by one.

As the machine did the final reading, he ended his voice-log:

"If there's no hope to be had, we must do like Pandora and find it from the depths of a box".

 _Nailed it,_ Leo reflected as he opened it to a puff of steam and looked at two sleep-deprived, highly caffeinated days' worth of work: four Magic Cards. Suddenly, Ray snatched them.

 **[EXT. A desolate street in the middle of the night]**

"Stay back! We need people like you for our future, Daddy!"

"What are you saying, Ray? What the future needs is the youth like you. I will take care of the Devil I created so you can live peacefully. Even if it may cost my li-"

"I don't want to lose my father!" She raised the disk and cast Swords of Sealing Light. They cleaved onto the hard concrete and blocked Leo's passage.

"RAY!" Her father gripped a hold on the swords but could only get his gloves burned.

"It's going to be okay, Daddy!" she smiled in sad reassurance as she raised the cards. "If I have your cards with me, no one's sacrifice will be in v-".

The sealing light had allowed Ray to actually read the cards she had dramatically stolen. With every passing sentence, her grief-stricken expression gave way to sullenness, then to second-hand embarrassment.

Leo was panicking. "Oh no, don't tell me the cards are terrible! Don't risk your life with a card that won't work in your deck".

Her determination did not falter.

"That isn't an option we have. Were you really going to go fight him with these cards?"

Her father was either the stupidest or bravest man she'd known.

"Ray, we're in no hurry. Just give me another day and I can adjust them!"

The jury was still out.

"What do you mean another day?! Every minute will make the difference for thousands of lives!"

"But Ray….you could actually die".

"We've already let hundreds die! Why shouldn't I step forward when the Pro League sacrificed everything so you could sneak to the wilderness and make these?! Even Red Herring—"

Ray's voice got caught in her throat. Red Herring had drawn a brick hand and Zarc made sure to torture him as slowly and agonizingly as possible. His burnt costume was forever imprinted in her head. She couldn't bear to falter so early. She ran with all her might.

 _I can make these work! I just need to retool my deck, that's all. Daddy gave everything he had for my future. Now, I can repay him._

 **[EXT. The same broken laboratory with half the equipment turned to ashes]**

 _Shit._ Shit _. "_ Shit" _._

Leo had no hope of chasing after Ray on foot (she was a top tier athlete), so he had to go back to his hi-tech jeep.

Unfinished cards. Zucco destroying everything his way. Ray on the loose.

 _We need more time. I was ready to sacrifice my life for Ray's sake, but now she's out to sacrifice her own. I can't let her die in front of me. I must get back to her and urge her to wait, even if another person has to give up their lives. But it will be useless. The way I see it, either a miraculous duellist would have to appear, or someone would need to come up with an all-powerful card for anyone to even stand a chance against Zucco._

He fetched his old box of priced items beneath wooden rubble that had been his nightstand. Thankfully, Ray hadn't thought to snatch the jeep's keys, or else she would actually reach the dragon before he did. Prized as she was to him, he'd been sensible to keep some things away from her, like the card her mother had sent for….the card?

In a worrying moment of mental clarity, Leo flipped the box open and found an old envelope. A birthday present Ray's mother had sent her way. Officially lost in the airport. He picked it and saw the card properly.

It dawned on him: "I have wasted everybody's time".

 **[EXT. A tattered building in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of corpses]**

"Long time no see, Ray Akaba!" Zarc Sakaki gestured on top of half a broken pillar beneath dark clouds. He was shirtless and wore only gloves and cargo pants, a pristine image that belied the devastation he'd caused.

"Were you expecting me?" she asked calmly as Zarc landed near her with a cartwheel that he most certainly wasn't rehearsing a few minutes prior. He raised a thumb to the sky.

"Since so few duellists have graced to show themselves, my Clear Wing has been patrolling the skies lest I accidentally kill what few dignified souls come to me before I duel them".

"Oh. Accidentally. Of course, we certainly wouldn't want your precious head to think someone got hurt for what you've done".

"I'm not appreciating your condensation, Ray!"

Ray had to pause. _This guy killed all my friends._

"In any case, you did come running towards me knowing fully well what I'm capable of. I like that! For all the favours my dragons have repaid, I have yet to find a truly satisfying duel". He readied his disk.

"However, I have a special condition: you must duel me under a certain Field Magic Card of my own creation: Borges' Dessert. If another player decides to tag with you in the middle of this duel, everyone in your team will lose 2000 points and my counter will go up by the same amount. This is not considered damage nor LP gain so you can't counter it".

"Is that all? What a nuisance. The only thing I need to avoid a setback is to duel you by myself. As if anyone was going to tag with me". Ray had inherited her father's penchant for tempting fate.

Zarc chuckled. "Do I take that as a yes?"

Ray immediately readied her own disk and both players turned their blades.

"DUEL!" (Ray: 4000 LP) (Zarc: 4000 LP)

At the command, the Field Magic took effect and a torrent of pitch-blue sand appeared out of the ether and engulfed the field and the debris beyond in barren wastelands and dunes where once stood buildings. They stood in a dessert as vast as the sky above and as bright as the world hadn't felt for an eternity.

Zarc bellowed "The dessert is the ultimate labyrinth. It condemns humanity to no other cell than the reminder of its own ephemeral nature, with no doors or barriers to cross save the abyss of their own solitude!"

"Is your turn done yet?"

"Oh, are you in such a hurry to die? In that case, I'll fulfil your wish". Zarc raised one of his five cards. "I activate the Magic Card, Foolish Burial. I can discard Supreme King Servant Dragon—Dark Wyrm directly from my deck. By Dark Wyrm's effect, if I control no monsters, I can Special Summon it from the grave. Then, I'll Normal Summon a second Dark Wyrm". From a small whirlpool, two twin dragons surged and danced mid-flight, drawing an infinite pattern in sequence. They were silver with black armour and shining green light in their borders. (Level 4/1800 ATK)

"I set two cards and end my turn". Two cards' holograms appeared and were buried under the sand. Zarc intended to push his opponent's concentration to the limit.

"My turn, draw!" Ray checked her drawn card: God's Warning.

 _He instantly summoned two Level 4 monsters, but did not Xyz Summon. He obviously intends to tribute them to summon his ace next turn. It's true that Astrograph Magician is a disgustingly broken card meant to summon an even more disgustingly, overwritten card. But if I destroy it beforehand, Zarc's entire deck will be ruined._

"I set five cards and end my turn".

"My turn, draw!" Zarc sneered. "I take it from those five seconds you spent looking on the horizon that you drew a card that could counter my strategy?"

Ray grinned smugly at that "Yours is not a strategy. With the right cards and timing, any idiot could swarm the field with high-level monsters. Don't flatter yourself".

Zarc narrowed his eyes, "That, my dear, will be the closest thing to damage you'll do tonight. Reverse card open: Trap Stun! This turn, all other Trap effects on the field will be negated".

Ray clenched her teeth, "Then I'll chain my own Trap: Emissaries of Harmony. This turn, I take no combat damage". A barrier of pink light shone in front of Ray's field. Suddenly a gust of wind swept her field and exposed four set cards turned to stone.

"I tribute my two Dark Wyrm". A second whirlpool, marked by blue rings, appeared and the dragons broke their dance and submerged themselves. In their place, a tall blue figure arose. It was wrapped in stars and its blaring coattails of doom depicted a starry sky from a space far beyond them (Level 7/2500 ATK). Astrograph Magician raised its staff towards Ray. Despite her barrier's protection, Ray felt a sharp chill in her spine as if she was being judged for crimes she would soon commit.

"I'll grant you that you bought yourself another turn to live, which is more than I can say for half my opponents. But you already know it, don't you? This is just the beginning". Zarc raised his hand to the sky. "I tribute Astrograph Magician to activate its effect: it allows me to Special Summon my true form, Supreme King Dragon ZARC, which requires the banishment of four Dragon-type monsters, one for each summoning type". He picked three cards from his Extra Deck and one from his deck: "Starve Venom Fusion Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Odd-Eyes Dragon will be offered!"

The dragons' ghosts tore through their cards and began circling the field. On beat, Astrograph Magician wrapped itself in psychedelic light and cast pentagrams of purple, green and black light. With every turn of the ghosts, they spun faster and faster. "In this form, I am simultaneously Fusion, Synchro and Xyz and while any such monsters are banished or in a graveyard, I can't be destroyed and no effect will make me leave the field". A fourth portal of pitch-black light cracked open behind Zarc and master and magician alike were drawn towards it. In a second's fraction, it closed and broke apart with a thunderous sound. Out from it, the biggest dragon emerged, every bit as horrifying as when it was first summoned. Its wings were thrice as large as its main body and extended into argyle towers with green diamonds. Its skeleton was citrine gold and its black armour was decorated with lime-green light; its tail whipped away dunes miles behind the duellists and it bared its red eyes and fangs at Ray. As if it wasn't extra enough, it cracked red lightning onto the field. (Rank-Level 12/4000 ATK)

 _The horror has already been summoned. Things couldn't possible get worse_.

" _RAY!"_ A white jeep crashed into a sand dune out of nowhere and her father rose from it. Tonight, the world was determined to prove her wrong.

"Daddy?! Why are you here?!"

Leo had readied his disk and turned on the blade: _"ZORC! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!"_

An incorporeal voice echoed throughout. _"IDIOT! I'M ALREADY DUELLING. AND MY NAME IS ZARC! LEARN TO USE IT WELL!"_

"In that case, I'll tag with my daughter Ray! We'll team up against you!" Ray facepalmed.

A humanoid, winged Zarc sprouted from the dragon's chest. "AS YOU WISH! BORGES' DESSERT ACTIVATES!"

Ray felt a cold grasp on her chest. She saw her father writhing while ZARC hissed in delight.

(Leo: 4000→2000 LP) (Ray: 4000→2000 LP) (Zarc: 4000→8000 LP)

"What?! What just happened?!"

Zarc briefed him on the situation. "Don't tell me…If I'd come in any later, Ray would have lost? Damn it…"

"Daddy, stay put! Tell me nobody else is on their way". Leo only shook his head. "I told you I didn't want you to risk yourself…but how did he…unless?!"

"I did tell you", interjected Zarc, "Clear Wing had patrolled the fields. You're not the first smartass who tried to gang up their friends on me to lever their disadvantage. I built Borges Dessert specifically to starve you out".

 _Filthy coward._

"Ah, but this isn't any ordinary peasant. It's Leo Akaba, the man who made all of this responsible!"

Leo looked up distraught.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I'm talking about the hell that is Real Solid Vision, which scarred my monsters and stooped me down to society's expectations, until I achieved Godhood. I owe you a proper reception. I activate the Magic Card, Treasure of Heaven! All players must draw until their hands contain six cards". They followed suit. "At this moment, my other effect will activate: I destroy all cards my opponents add to their hands outside the Draw Phase".

"WHAT?!"

The red lightning stunned the cards they'd drawn. Her father lost a Legendary Ocean and Ray lost five cards. Including two familiar cards….

"Are those—?!"

"Please stay put! It's going to be okay. I have a combo".

With the disk system, Leo read the cards he made for the first time. "But…they're terrible! They're too slow for your deck. Even if we got them back, we can't fulfil these conditions!"

"It's okay! Because of the tag rules, we're sharing a field and graveyard. Thanks to Emissaries of Harmony, we won't take damage this turn. If we work off each other's cards, we can definitely pull it off and defeat him". Leo remained sceptical. That had hurt Ray far more than his intervention.

ZARC roared to get back their attention. "I set three cards. Then I activate Reincarnation from the Dead. I'll discard Supreme King Servant Dragon—Odd Eyes and add Astrograph Magician from my grave to the hand. I end my turn".

The trap effects expired. The barrier dissipated and Ray and Leo were now wide open against ZARC, baring its fangs and wings against them.

As soon as Leo drew, Ray raised her disk. "On my father's Draw Phase, I pay 1000 LP. Reverse card open: Hope for Escape". (Ray: 2000→1000 LP). "Now, I can draw a card for every 2000 points of difference between our life points. You dragon will only destroy cards if they're drawn outside the Draw Phase". Zarc could only scowl as Ray drew three cards.

"Next, I'll open the Instant Magic, Friendship!" She stepped forward up to the midfield and raised her hand. "Zarc, will you shake my hand?"

"What", both men said.

"Friendship's effect lets me offer you a handshake. If you accept, our life points will become equal to half the total sum. In this case, 4500".

"Are you telling me you added a card that depends entirely on your opponent to give you LP?!" Man and dragon cackled at that.

"There's another condition", Ray interrupted. "If I reveal the Magic Card Unity in my hand, my opponent must accept the handshake".

Zarc caught the meaning quickly. "You bastard! You have it in your hand, don't you?"

"Will you make me reveal it?"

"Stop wasting my time! You know damn well I won't give up my LP for you!"

On beat, Ray raised Unity and both cards reacted to each other. The dragon descended on head level with Ray. Zarc was evidently surprised by this. "What's this?! Stop!"

"I thought you and ZARC were one being!"

"Of course we are! We have become one!

Yet the boy was facing the floor as ZARC reclined and held a long ivory claw. Ray shook it and felt the energy flow between them. (Ray: 1000→4500 LP) (Zarc: 8000→4500 LP)

"How dare you snatch my life with such an underhanded trick?!"

"I didn't snatch anything. I offered you Friendship, so that we could leave this duel on equal ground. But I've just confirmed something important". Ray looked upwards and looked at the man dead in the eye. "Monster and duellist have not become one. The true monster is you!"

"Pf. You really are taken in with yourself, aren't you? But if this was the true extent of your powers, you were never much of a challenge to me in the first place. It's a good thing Daddy came to save you".

"Ray", Leo said imploringly. "You've done enough. I promise you won't have to put yourself at risk any further than this! Ritual Magic, Advanced Ritual Art activates!"

"Ritual Magic?!" Zarc was surprised this time. Ritual Summoning was the only style he hadn't been known to use and certainly the one he had the least experience against.

"This won't do, Leo Akaba! Reverse card open, Supreme King's Brutality! I can reveal my opponent's hand and discard a card for every other Supreme King card I control. Each discard will inflict 300 points of damage!"

Whereas Leo had panicked before, he looked terminally sick now. The system shone the holographs of his cards. The Ritual Monster in Leo's hand was Fortress Whale, an outdated beatstick with no effects. But the card that caught everyone's attention….

"Sophia, the Star Creator God, eh? Now I see. Your Ritual Monster was just bait to bring a truly strong monster on the field".

"Sophia summons itself by banishing Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Ritual Monsters from anywhere on the field. Since that's the card's cost and not an effect, ZARC can't overrule it. Daddy, where did you find a card like that?" And _why did you make us wait two days if a counter already existed?!_

While Leo mumbled a vague explanation, Ray's eyes noted a rose patterned envelope hanging from his jacket's pocket, her mother's favourites. Then an old memory clicked.

" _You told me they stole Mom's gift in customs_!"

"Ray, I ca—"

" _ALL OUR FRIENDS AND KNOWN ONES DIED FOR THIS?!_ "

Zarc and ZARC alike howled a roar of tedium in sync.

"By Supreme King Brutality's effect, I'll discard Sophia!"

The card's holograph was jammed and Leo had to discard it while taking further shocks (Leo: 2000→1700 LP)

"Aw, such sad faces won't do! This is a father-daughter duel now, isn't it? Best if you spend your last miserable moments with some cheer. Take joy in facing me as the last opponent of your lives!"

Standing in the middle of the dessert, between Zarc's hammed up speeches and Leo's blubbering apologies, one thought shimmered clearly in Ray's mind.

 _I'm done with men talking._

"Daddy". Leo had the decency to look up. "Zarc has just made a decisive mistake. You can now clench this duel".

"What mistake would that be?" Zarc's tone wasn't mocking this time. The insinuation disturbed him.

"You should have discarded Fortress Whale. Sophia or not, my father would not have had any monsters to summon. But thanks to your folly, you've given him leeway to summon and make a counterattack".

"Do you really think I could have attained Godhood while still being an idiot?! I just saw your father's cards! I know exactly how his next move is going to go! _It won't defeat me!_ "

Leo was sweating buckets and looked about ready to fall on his knees and drop his cards. Yet he'd come this far. Ray's hands went to his shoulders and he stood still.

"Daddy. It's okay. Even if this won't beat him, I won't let you die. You came here to save me, didn't you? So let's bear this together".

For the longest second, Leo looked back at her and his frown subsided. Beneath the fire and the dragon's roar, he exhaled the quietest _Thank you._

He picked his deck: "Advanced Ritual Art resolves! I Ritual Summon Fortress Whale by sending Normal Monsters from my deck that match its total Level! I offer the Level 6 Frostosaurus and the Level 1 Water Spirit!"

A stone tablet rose from beneath the sun with a green hexagram as the monsters' spectres (a water bubble with a gonk face and a dinosaur made of ice) took shape and vanished into beams of light (for each level star). When they sunk into the tablet, the hexagram ignited and protruded seven rings of green fire. The flames transmutated into a giant typhoon. From within it, rose a giant sperm whale clad in naval weaponry (Level 7/2350 ATK).

"To think I suspected a trump card that could match me. Get this shrimp off my sight and summon your true ace!"

"I tribute Fortress Whale to summon the Legendary Fisherman". The whale was sunken by the typhoon which quickly contracted into a water ball. From it, burst forth a buffed fisherman with a harpoon, riding a scarred shark (Level 5/1850 ATK). "Then, by tributing the Legendary Fisherman, I can Special Summon the Legendary Fisherman III". Man and shark veered behind the water ball and sprung forth with the speed of a cannon ball. A blinding flash later, they had taken new form. The fisherman stood atop a bulked-up shark whale crowned with a red jewel (Level 7/2500 ATK).

"I activate the Legendary Fisherman III's effect. This returns all your banished cards back to your graveyard to double the first instance of damage you take this turn".

As the four cards were sent back to the grave, the shark flew so it met ZARC's bare fangs, as the fisherman's blank eyes met Zarc's.

"I activate the Equip Magic, Demon World Shackles! This makes ZARC'S ATK 100 and prevents it from attacking". A giant blackberry with a horned devil's face manifested into the fisherman's arms. He swung it towards the sky from whence it fell and coiled around ZARC'S chest. ZARC knelt down, more due to the dark pulse that radiated than the ball's actual weight (4000→100 ATK).

"At this difference, Fisherman's effect will let me inflict a total 4800 points of damage. This is the end, Zarc! Legendary Fisherman III attacks Supreme King Dragon ZARC!"

"I told you I saw this move through! Reverse card open, Nutrient-Z! If I would take at least 2000 points of combat damage, this card will grant me 4000 LP before deducting it!" Zarc was engulfed in a revitalizing aura as soon as shark and fisherman swerved and fired again, aiming fangs and harpoon. Their weapons dug deep. The solid vision dessert was soon drenched in blood and the world beyond their small field was shaken by the howls of pain (Zarc: 4500→8500→3700 LP).

"Is that the counter you were bragging about? Even if you stay another turn, your dragon has been weakened. You can't fight with this!" Leo was making a fool out of fate and would now be fooled by it. "Turn end".

For all his bravado, the attack had inflicted severe pain. But now Zarc sprung to action.

"At this stage, I can activate my reverse card: Supreme King's Wrath. This card can only be activated on the End Phase, when I've taken 2000 or more points of damage!"

"Is that why he let me summon Ritual Summon?!"

"I won't let you do it, Zarc!" bellowed Ray, "Counter Trap: God's Warning! By paying 2000 LP I can either negate a monster's summon or negate effect that would summon monsters and destroy that card!" (Ray: 4500→2500 LP) A swirl opened from the sky and a thunderbolt descended.

"Counter Trap! Dark Bribe. I negate a Magic or Trap card's activation, destroy it and allow my opponent an extra draw". The thunder vanished in a puff of smoke. Ray could only clench her teeth as she drew a card that was also dissipated, due to ZARC's abilities.

"How's that, Ray? My tactics extend to manipulating the opponent's actions to my advantage. On the other hand, I'd say relying on counter traps to trounce the opponent is a meat-headed strategy that any idiot can use". He extended his arm with a manic grin.

"By Supreme King's Wrath, I can Special Summon four different Supreme King Servant Dragons from my grave or Extra Deck, ignoring their summoning conditions. I'll summon Odd-Eyes from my grave and its brethren from my Extra Deck!"

The crack in the ground tore the solid vision and the concrete beneath their feet and unleashed a cold, deafening gust as if Zarc had summoned all the ghosts of his victims to follow the four dragons that flew in and set foot. They were recognizably Zarc's favourites, but their eyes were dead and their markings were a dull green. Like Zarc, they had been transmutated from something that brought joy and delight for many into a source of acedia and exasperation.

"Supreme King Servants: Odd-Eyes (Level 8/2500 ATK)! Starve Venom (Level 8/2800 ATK)! Clear Wing (Level 8/2500 ATK)! Dark Rebellion (Rank 4/2500 ATK)! Until the start of my turn, their effects will be negated. Finally, with Supreme King Wrath's effect, I attach the two Dark Wyrms in my grave as Overlay Units for Dark Rebellion". Two more ghouls crept out and became beams of purple light around the black eel dragon.

"Do you understand now, Leo Akaba? If I had just let the Ritual fizzle, you'd have fallen on ass and surrendered. And how boring that'd have been. Nobody wants to see you fizzle out, without a chance to properly savour the pain and atone for what you've done! But this way? I've brought you down to my Level, my Rank! You finally understand how good it feels to attack, to break your foe until they can't stand, while also letting you understand what it means to duel when everyone you love must suffer for it!"

Ray snapped. "Okay, I've had enough of your lectures! _Zarc_ , you are cruel, insidious and boring! I offered you Friendship. I've withstood your attacks. I've tried to listen, but all I hear is atonement this, suffering that, all platitudes! In Japanese: why do you have it in for everyone?! And how can you complain about your suffering when you've killed everyone around us? What about the family you've lost for this?"

"My only family is right here", he opened his arms, gesturing at his four new dragons. "And I would have lost them soon if I hadn't taken action. You know that I can communicate with them. You're the only one who believed what I said: the monster cards have spirits and Real Solid Vision gave their minds a heart and body to bear pain and injury!" All four dragons howled so pitifully Ray almost expected wobbly anime tears on their faces. "The monsters, the friends I love, were being hurt by the heightened Real Solid Vision!"

"And yet you still used them. You got them into this world of pain!"

"They were my favourite cards. Duelling under the new system meant sending them to a world of pain"

"So don't use them? Rebuild your deck or focus on a strategy that didn't require spamming them and sending them to fight other monsters like you always did?! You're saying this like someone forced you".

"You ALL did".

"But you started the entire trend of violent duels that got so many good duellist maimed!"

"The first time was an accident!"

"So why continue?!"

"IT WAS FUN! THE CROWD LOVED IT AND SO I CAVED TO PLEASE THEM!"

"Oh, so what are you saying, that you're the one who incensed your family's pain?! So does that mean you took it out against the world to shake the blame off?!"

"FUCK YOU! IT WAS TO SAVE MY DRAGONS FROM FURTHER AGONY, GIVE THEM THE CHANCE TO DEAL DAMAGE, RATHER THAN RECEIVE IT, WHILE ALSO SATISFYING SOCIETY'S LOVE FOR VIOLENT, BLOODTHIRSTY DUELS!"

"A BUNCH OF ASSHATS POPULARIZED AGGRESSIVE DUELLING SO THEY COULD BULLY OTHERS, WITH YOU AT THE HEAD OF IT! HOW DOES ONE GO TO KILLING YOUR OWN FANS FROM THERE?! NOBODY FORCED YOU TO!"

"THE WORLD DROVE ME TO THIS STATE! You wouldn't understand. I had a traumatic life, okay?"

" _I'm_ having a traumatic life right now".

"And you can thank your father for that! He disregarded my warnings!"

" _What are you talking about?!_ "

"Stay out of this, Daddy! But seriously, what warnings?! You only claimed the monsters spoke to you. You never spoke up against those duels! You encouraged them!"

"I was but a mere gear. They wouldn't have been possible if your father hadn't pushed duelling to the extent that monsters would become our tools. The way I see it, the city is burning because of him"

" _Oh, fuck you!_ As far as my father knew, that was just a superstition. He only set out to make a name for himself, like we both did. He would never hunt down and murder innocents the way you've done!" Crickets chirped ominously.

In a brief exhale of clarity, Ray caught Zarc's eye and somehow felt the same thought between them: _They'll never understand._ Most likely, the dragons themselves had translated their master's thought for her to hear.

"My turn, draw!" As the Servant Dragons' effects were restored, their markings ignited and resumed their natural hellish green.

"Magic Card: Dark Genocide Cutter. If I control at least three DARK monsters, I can banish a face-up card. I eradicate Demon World Shackles!" All Servant Dragons roared in concert as the demonic blackberry screamed and melted away. ZARC rose to its full might (100→4000 ATK).

Suddenly, Starve Venom's tendrils extended and caught Legendary Fisherman III. It cried out in pain as the dragon's face mutated with its jaw and beak extending like a shark's. "Starve Venom's effect activates! I negate Legendary Fisherman III's effects this turn and grant them, as well as its name to my dragon".

"Legendary Fisherman III can't be destroyed, nor targeted by Magic and Trap cards. Now it's truly vulnerable!" Leo blubbered.

"Battle! I'll attack Legendary Fisherman III!"

Ray leaped to action: "I discard Unity to activate this. Trap Card: Farewell! The combat phase is over and every monster on the field will have its effects negated until the end of this turn!"

"Then I'll end my turn!" Starve Venom resumed its form and position and released Fisherman from its coils.

"Bah. You call me boring when all your cards do is delay and pussyfoot your way through my attacks!"

"And you had the gall to call me meat-headed. That was a second decisive mistake, Zarc".

Ray kept talking before Zarc could even grunt in response: "You had Starve Venom and Dark Genocide Cutter in tandem, but played them in the wrong order. Had you negated Legendary Fisherman III's effects, it would have been vulnerable to Magic and Trap effects. Thereby, you could have banished it with Dark Genocide Cutter".

"It makes no difference how I—"

"Does it?! You claim to hear the spirits of the monsters in their cards, yet you've allowed my father and me to summon ours so we could keep fighting. You called them your family, yet you send them to further carnage….ripe for me to destroy. You might hear the spirits within, but I don't think you understand them".

"…Come again?"

"You had a potent combo to seal the game, leave us without hope, and you spent it so the Supreme King Dragon could attack when it didn't need to. You've wasted your opportunity. That was the true purpose of the deck I built. You excel at head-to-head combat and dragged my father into a calculated trap that would maximize your field power, just like you did everybody else. But you have no sense of stealth or subtlety outside fights. You let my father summon to give you an opponent and you threw a selfish attack that did nothing. Now, I've caught you off-guard. If my deck answers me, you'll be the one atoning his mistakes".

Leo only stared at her; Zarc had no comeback. For the first time, he seemed afraid and Ray got to appreciate how lonely he seemed all the way up there. She drew.

"Magic Card: Pot of Dichotomy. This card must be activated at the start of the first Main Phase and forbids me from conducting the combat phase. I shuffle three monsters with different types into my deck and draw 2 cards".

"Is that your answer? To draw more cards at the expense of attacking, even though I will destroy whatever you draw? Quit teasing me!"

"I'll shuffle the Warrior type Legendary Fisherman, the Fish type Fortress Whale and the Angel type Sophia into my deck".

 _No, it can't be. It's true that Leo Akaba conceived Ritual Summon as a shortcut against me. But even if the daughter has adapted her deck to use it, I'll just destroy any cards she adds from this point on. If she can't defend herself with her current hand, then she's digged her own tomb and is begging for release._

Ray shuffled. She set her deck and clenched her fingers.

"I didn't want my father on this duel. Not just because the Field Magic would hurt us. I didn't even want him as a spectator in the case that he was either hurt or had to see me die".

Leo Akaba collapsed and broke into tears at that. "But he still came for me and left me this monster to fight with. I did not ask him to join me, but I have a responsibility to him, nonetheless. I must protect him and honour his loyalty and trust with the cards he gave me, but also show him another way to fight even when things seem hopeless. Am I getting anywhere to you Zarc? No one forced you to take this path, but now you have to stand by it and face the consequences".

" _Shut up and draw already_ ".

Ray swung two cards in the air and checked them. "My ability will now destroy your drawn cards. So much talking for—"

"I chain D.D. Crow!"

"Eh?!"

"This card can be discarded on any turn and lets me banish a card in any graveyard. I'll banish Odd-Eyes Dragon!"

A black beak emerged from Zarc's graveyard. Soon enough, a crow with mechanical armour fluttered its way out carrying Odd-Eyes' card and banishing away. His effect resolved and Ray's remaining card was burnt away.

"At this stage, I'll activate Four Stages of Alchemy. When this card is discarded due to my opponent's effect, I can immediately set it".

 _One of her draws could discard itself anytime and the other can be set from the grave. This timing is awfully convenient. Could she rig her deck this far? Or did she…?_

"I activate Legendary Fisherman III's effect! I return the banished Odd-Eyes to your grave and double the first instance of damage, by combat or effect, you take this turn!" The Odd-Eyes card materialized again at the tip of the fisherman's harpoon. He swung it and it hit straight into Zarc's graveyard.

 _She's swinging my cards in and out of my grave! What's she aiming for?_

"I activate the Magic Card, Instant Fusion!" (Ray: 2500→1500 LP) "With this I can instantly Fusion Summon a Level 5 or lower monster". She clenched her hands and extended her arms in front. "Fusion Summon! Rock on, Musician King!" A washed-up rock singer appeared, riffing an old Gibson V (Level 5/1750 ATK).

"Then, I tribute Musician King and the Legendary Fisherman III!" The Musician King leapt onto the shark and both rode on as it submerged into the sand. From it, sprung a titanic figure clad in black-stripped yellow robes and silver armour with blazing red horns and claws. Within its palms, it clutched two spheres of pure lightning. "I tribute summon the Roaring Thunder Monarch, Zaborg" (Level 8/2800 ATK). When this monster is successfully tribute summoned, I can destroy a monster on the field. Then, if the destroyed monster is a LIGHT monster, both players must discard as many cards from their Extra Decks as possible, up to that monster's Level or Rank".

"This is it Ray! It's finally here!" Leo Akaba, who had remained silent and awaiting death since Ray's tantrum, was now looking expectantly with renowned vigour in his eyes.

"Don't tell me, you're destroying your own monster?!" As its response, Zaborg materialized its spheres into one long thunderbolt and thrust it into itself. It exploded on contact and the sand where it stood was now crystallized. Zarc's entire Extra Deck was sent to the grave.

"By Zaborg's effect, I'll discard 3 Xyz Monsters, 3 Synchro Monsters and 2 Fusion Monsters. Now, one more piece to set up my victory combo". She activated the last card in her hand.

"The Permanent Magic—Triangle Force. On activation, it places two other copies into my field. Finally, I'll activate my set Permanent Magic, Four Stages of Alchemy. On activation, it banishes every Permanent Magic Card I control. For each card banished this way, I can set another Permanent Magic from my deck or grave: I'm setting EN Flowers and EN Wind from my grave and EN Birds and EN Moon from my deck!"

Zarc glanced back at Leo. He was crying joyfully. "Ray! He has no set cards. Astrograph Magician can't save him now. This is your chance!"

Ray nodded encouragingly and turned back to Zarc. "Now, Zarc, this is the grand climax! I activate EN Flowers!"

On activation, it distorted Borges' Dessert. At first Zarc thought it was a glitch and the card would just be a desperate attempt to cancel the duel. Suddenly, an entire ecosystem sprung beneath the barren dessert. Roses, dandelions, camellias and other blooms he didn't recognize manifested. They lit the entire field on. Despite himself, he thought:

 _This…is lovely. What's this? No, but I can't…_

"If I control EN Flowers and have at least 3 Xyz Monsters in my grave, I can activate EN Birds. It treats all Xyz Monsters that are banished, or in the field and grave, as Normal Monsters and negates their effects".

On call, the sky was infested with flocks of birds, from hummingbirds and mockingbirds to eagles and vultures, most of which weren't produced by Real Solid Vision. But they all took their droppings onto Zarc's field. As he set an arm over his cards, he saw his own card's black border was gone. Dark Rebellion, save for its rank, now had the markings of a Normal Monster. On its errata box, he read: _She's going to kill us all because of you!_

He looked up, stricken by the deepest pain in his gut. He checked all Xyz Monsters in his grave and found only yellow where the starry black should be.

"You have four EN cards and one of them neutralizes Xyz Monsters…This means…"

"Yes. If I control EN Birds and have at least 3 Synchro Monsters in the grave, I can activate EN Wind. Controlling EN Wind with at least 3 Fusion Monsters in my grave will let me activate EN Moon. EN Wind and EN Moon extend EN Birds' effect to Synchro and Fusion!"

Ray's last sentence was drowned by a sudden gust of wind and accompanied by an abrupt dissipation of the clouds. Even though the full moon had passed two nights ago, it shone entirely above them, like an asteroid that was about to collapse on the Earth. The birds flew gracefully through the currents, but Zarc's dragons, including him were being pushed apart. When he clutched his cards so they wouldn't be blown off the disk, he found them all, save for Odd-Eyes to have been turned to Normal Monsters.

Starve Venom's errata: _You didn't need to let them summon those monsters. Good going!_

Clear Wing: _I told you not to force us to duel any longer, but you never listen._

His own card, the Supreme King Dragon: _Zarc Sakaki (11-02-1993—TODAY)_

Despite the current and his own panicking scream, he managed to hear a voice deep inside.

 _It's over, Zarc. I'm sorry I couldn't save you._

" _O…Odd-Eyes! What do you mean?!_

 _When a player controls all four EN cards, EN Flowers allows them to destroy all the opponent's monsters and inflict 600 points of damage times the total: 3000._

 _I can only remain on the field if either Fusion, Synchro or Xyz exist in the game. But she's cleaned them all! And she activated Legendary Fisherman III to double the total damage. I've…No, I can't…I COULDN'T!_

(Zarc: 3700→0 LP)

 _Calm yourself, Zarc! Our time is over. If you have another chance you must promise…._

But he never heard it. None of the other dragons caught on to the rising hurricane that was brewing behind the natural spectacle. It came from behind and drowned everything on its path. Under the moon's watchful eye, the tempest struck them all.

 _Unforgivable. How could you split us, US, who had become one?_

Zarc heard a despairing cry calling _Ray_ and then darkness took him.


End file.
